First, Lets Talk UTM Tracking Basics
Setrics utilizes UTM (Urchin Traffic Monitor) click tracking which allows users to append a simple string to the end of the URL in order to dictate where the source of that traffic came from and subsequently what they accomplished on your website after they arrived, all in a segmented campaign – nifty.
For example, instead of linking to [www.abcplumbing.com/about-us/]
You would link to [www.abcplumbing.com/about-use/?utm_source=support&utm_medium=direct&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=campaign].
Notice that the URL is the same, it is just that there is a string appended to the end of it (?utm_source=support&utm_medium=……)
This simple technology allows you to create click tracking online and offline. In the offline world however, you will likely never use this URL because of its length and appearance. So here is what you do in the offline world.
How to Do URL Masking with Setrics
Option 1 – Vanity Slug
Just setup a vanity slug or vanity URL using your current site. An example would be [www.abcplumbing.com/offer/]. This of course assumes that you are not already using this URL for a page on your site. This slug or URL needs to be not currently used because it will now function now as a “mask” for the ugly UTM link. Simply go to your hosting provider or DNS for your main domain and setup this simple redirect from the mask page (/offer/) to the UTM link.
Option 2 – Vanity Domain Name
Buy a unique domain name specific to this campaign. This is very common in billboards and print ads. An example would be [www.bestplumberaround.com]. This of course assumes that you can get the domain name. This domain will now function now as a “mask” for the ugly UTM link. Simply go to your domain registrar and configure the domain to redirect to the UTM link. We typically use a general “URL Redirect”. Redirect from the vanity domain you just bought to the UTM link.
Option 3 – Cetrics.com Link
Cetrics is similar to Bit.ly or TinyURL.com in that you can use little tiny URLs to link to other longer, more ugly URLs that you don’t want to publish. Do need to buy a domain or fiddle with your hosting account. This is much more popular of an idea in the online realm and not such a great idea in print. An example would be [cetrics.com/dysy67hs28]. This link will now function now as a “mask” for the ugly UTM link. Simply go into your SETRICS account, add a cetrics link and give it your UTM click tracker and you are done. This feature is coming end of summer of 2014. For clarity, if you prefer to use Bit.ly or TinyURL.com, you could also use them to accomplish this same purpose to mask your long URLs and it would work fine with SETRICS, just a little disjointed perhaps.
